Shadow War
by TheMonkfish
Summary: The forces of Darkness have begun their assault on the Nature Civilisation. War is coming,and it will decide the fate of the entire creature world. Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

Shadow War

So, this is my first Fanfic. The description text on some of the Duel Masters cards looked quite interesting (mostly the Darkness and Water ones), so I thought I might 'expand' the in game universe a bit.

I do not own the Duel Masters TCG, OCG, Anime, Manga, or Comic

''In the depths of the land of darkness lies the source of the Demon Command's power'' - Reso Pacos, Clear Sky Guardian

Chapter 1 - The Shadow Falls

In a darkened room, deep within the citadel of shadow, a grovelling fiend knelt before his master. The imperious figure of Ballom, the Master of Death, loomed over the pathetic minion.

''My lord'' said the fiend ''our forces are ready to move into the Fiona Woods at your command''

''Excellent'' boomed the dark overlord ''tell General Trox to begin his assault immediately''

''It will be done great master'' said the fiend. After saying this, he shuffled off into the shadows. Ballom turned to a cave opening behind him. The cavern seemed to give off an aura of malice. Ballom waved his hand and shouted ''Demon Command, I awake you from your slumber!" A hulking beast made of bleached bones lumbered out from within the cavern. ''Zorvaz'' said Ballom ''you will make an excellent soldier''. The beast roared in approval and stamped its skeletal foot.

Meanwhile, on the borders of the Fiona Woods, Trox prepared his forces to attack the Nature Civilisation. Hordes of shambling zombies formed up alongside monstrous chimeras and sinister gargoyles. Trox stood at the head of his mighty army, brandishing a huge axe as he roared commands to his minions. Trox yelled the order to attack. The tide of foul beasts rolled over the plains and into the edge of the woods. A group of hedrians armed with steamrollers charged on ahead of the horde and smashed into the trees, flattening them utterly. Before long, the Nature forces arrived to fight back. Trox grinned in anticipation of a good fight. The leader of the woodland forces was a hulking beast folk with the face of a snarling wolf. Around him was a pack of fierce boar warriors wielding huge clubs. Immediately the forces of darkness set upon the beast folk, a cluster of mindless zombies and ghouls rushing forward to attack the new arrivals. A cloud of insect like brain jackers buzzed amongst the Nature forces and attacked them with envenomed fangs and stings. When the living dead reached the beast folk, they tore into them with their arms flailing. The beast folk fought back with their clubs but were quickly overwhelmed by the ravenous zombies. The wolfman who lead the beast folk crushed a ghoul with his axe, but three more leapt on him from behind and he disappeared beneath a pile of thrashing creatures.

Thousands of miles above the conflict, the city of Light floated in the sky. Flights of guardians soared through the air around the golden battlements. Within the tallest spire of the citadel lay the central command chamber. The Angel Command Council floated around a holographic image of the battle below them. ''Direct intervention may be necessary'' spoke Syforce, the Aurora Elemental. ''We cannot allow ourselves to become involved in the petty struggles of the lesser civilisations'' said Ethel, the Sea Star Elemental. ''I object'' interrupted Haunasa, the Radiance Elemental ''any victory for the forces of Darkness is a step towards the ultimate defeat''. ''We should send the guardians to fight on the side of Nature'' responded Syforce. ''Agreed'' said Haunasa ''a force of guardians shall be dispatched to eliminate any threat to the world's balance''.

In the Fiona Woods, the fight was going badly for the defenders. The mighty Demon Command, Zorvaz the Bonecrusher, had been unleashed onto the battlefield and was flattening huge areas of forest and all defenders within with its scorching breath. It was all but immune to the weapons of the beast folk who desperately tried to defeat it. In the thick of the melee, Trox towered over all other combatants, cackling madly as he mauled enemies with his giant axe. Without warning, the sky lit up with fiery trails as the guardians descended to smite the forces of evil. ''Leave now fools'' roared Trox ''this is not your battle''. ''Foul beast, you and your kind should return to the pits that spawned you'' replied the lead guardian as it fired a shining beam of light that vaporised a group of zombies. The forces of Darkness threw themselves upon the new enemy, some shouting furious battle cries and others simply roaring incoherently. The guardians fought back with blasts of energy and hacked at the creatures of evil with swords of pure light.

Deep beneath the stormy seas of the Far Ocean, the city of the Cyber Lords glimmered with inner light. Vigilant cyber clusters patrolled the murky depths surrounding the subterranean fortress. In the central tower the Cyber Lords plotted their assault on the surface world. ''War is coming'' said Marionmancer ''we must be ready for an attack on the Firelands''. Tropico nodded in agreement ''we must prepare our forces'' he said ''the forces of Fire will put up a fight against our invasion''. ''The stained glass program is ready for deployment'' replied Marionmancer ''those savages will not stand a chance against our later cyber virus developments''. As he said this, millions of stained glass programs were being written in the nearby cyber-works. The liquid people connected themselves to the systems of the cyber-works to download new weapon programs. War was indeed coming, and the Firelands would be the first target of the Water legions.

In his dark fortress, Ballom chuckled as his master plan unfolded. The intervention of the Angel Command was unexpected, but it would merely delay his plans. His puppet the cyber lord Marionmancer had persuaded the forces of Water to assault the Firelands, distracting two of his enemies with each other. Soon general Trox would overwhelm the defenders of the Fiona Woods and Darkness would have a foothold outside of the Lands of Shadow. Ballom turned to the vast cave behind his throne once again. ''I require another minion'' he spoke ''Dark Titan, rise up!" A behemoth made of obsidian and shadows emerged from the cavern and gave a thunderous roar. ''Go my favoured minion'' ordered Ballom ''stride across the land and ruin all who fall under your dark gaze". _Soon, _thought Ballom, _the Fiona Woods will be just another part of my dark empire._


	2. Chapter 2

Shadow War

Thanks go to SCGMD3Bakura and Shruiken16 for reviewing.

I do not own the Duel Masters TCG, OCG, Anime, Manga, or Comic

''Fear not the Darkness. Fear what dwells within it'' - Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits

Chapter 2 - Spreading Darkness

On the shores of the Firelands, the Water invasion was beginning. The beaches ran blue with a tide of scissor eye and stained glass programs as they crawled up towards the iron wall that marked the beginning of the Fire Civilisation's realm. On the parapet, a squad of dragonoids assembled and gazed out at the shifting tide of Water creatures as it approached them. ''Dragon gods be with us in this battle'' growled one of them. ''We must pray that reinforcements arrive before we are overwhelmed'' said another. A team of armoured humans were dragging huge cannons into position on the battlements. ''Balbaro, man the gun'' shouted one of them. A man in huge battle armour climbed into the cannon's control unit and gripped the trigger tightly. ''On my order'' yelled the dragonoid commander ''open fire!'' The armoured cannon spat fiery death at the oncoming horde. A huge cluster of scissor eyes was blasted into dust, but many more scuttled forward to replace them. The dragonoids fired a volley of rockets and sprayed bullets from huge machine cannons, but no matter how many of the accursed gel fish and cyber viruses that they destroyed, yet more emerged from the ocean to assault the walls. "We're going to be overwhelmed if we stay here for much longer" roared the dragonoid commander. ''Agreed'' replied Balbaro ''we should fall back to a more secure position''. ''As much as it pains me to retreat from battle'' growled one of the dragonoids ''I believe you may be right''. The forces of Fire abandoned the walls and retreated to the second line of defense, the dragonoid fort just behind the first wall. A machine eater team met the retreating forces at the gate. ''Have the Cyber Lords launched their offensive?'' asked the lead engineer. ''That they have'' said Balbaro ''the first line is lost, buried beneath a swarm of gel fish''. ''That is most disconcerting news'' replied the engineer ''still, they shouldn't be able to breach our Stonewall System''.

On the other side of the world, the fight went equally badly for the beast folk. The few survivors of the Fiona Woods were fortified around the area's World Tree. A cluster of tree folk had emerged from the World Tree and a swarm of giant insects had arrived to assist the defenders. However, the Dark Titan that Ballom had awakened was swiftly approaching, and with it the certain doom of the defenders. General Trox laughed maniacally as the juggernaut of destruction trampled everything in its path. Wherever the Dark Titan tread, the ground blackened and plants withered. The few remaining guardians fought a hopeless battle against the overwhelming numbers of the Darkness invaders. A lone figure emerged from the tress to challenge the attackers. He was a four armed beast folk warrior who wielded a massive sword. Fighter Dual Fang was his name, and he was the mightiest of all the beast folk champions. ''Trox'' he yelled ''face me!'' Trox simply gestured for the Dark Titan to flatten the warrior. Fang leapt out of the way as the demon command fired a beam of dark energy at him. The warrior charged into the ranks of the Darkness horde, sword whirling. The creatures of shadow fell in huge numbers as Fang cut them down. Eventually, he reached the overlord of the army. Trox grinned and drew his axe. As the two mighty champions clashed blades for the first time, a shockwave blasted out and hurled the Darkness army back from the combat. The last guardians flew around the Dark Titan, distracting it with blasts of energy so that Fang could concentrate on his duel with Trox.

The Angel Commands were alarmed by the way the battle was turning. ''This cannot be allowed'' said Syforce ''we must intervene personally!" The other Angel Commands nodded in agreement. ''I shall descend myself'' said Urth, the Purifying Elemental. ''Bring reinforcements to the forces of freedom'' said Haunasa ''Darkness must not be allowed to prevail''. Urth glowed with barely suppressed power as he left the Light city and headed for the battle below.

The fight went badly for Trox. Despite the dark general's ferocity and power, Fang was beginning to overpower his defences. ''Kill him you fools'' shouted Trox ''destroy him before he finishes me off!'' The dark creatures rushed forward to attack Fang, but he scattered them with a sweeping attack and continued to attack Trox. The dark general hurled a lowly fiend into Fang's path and lumbered away from the beast folk warrior. ''Maginn'' he commanded the Dark Titan ''get rid of this annoyance!'' The demon command charged up power and fired a massive blast at Fang. The champion raised his shield and the gargantuan blast collided with the barrier. A few seconds later, the smoke cleared and Fang still stood, but he was obviously weakened by the attack. Trox seized the opportunity and swung his axe. Fang fell to the ground as Trox's axe hit him with huge force. Trox yelled in triumph and swung again, causing the weakened beast folk to shatter into hundreds of pieces. The dark general cackled madly. He had defeated the mightiest warrior of the Nature Civilisation. Before Trox could savour his victory however, a shining light filled the sky and caused the army of Darkness to cower in fear. From within the light flew Urth, surrounded by a squadron of guardians, initiates, and light bringers. ''I am assuming direct control of the battle'' said Urth. The angel command gestured with his hand and the fragments of Dual Fighter Fang glowed with orange light. ''Rise again champion, your duty is not yet done''. Before he could complete the resurrection however, a sinister gargoyle crashed into him and slashed with its talons. The angel command easily blasted the vile creature into dust, but the damage was done. The semi-reconstructed remains of Fang were irreversibly damaged. Suddenly, the shards glowed with energy and formed into four balls of light. One was crimson, one emerald, one pure white, and another turquoise. Each orb flew into the sky and shot over the horizon. _Impossible _thought Urth _each of those will theoretically form a new warrior, each with Fang's power and experience. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Shadow War**

**Thanks go to Jetzul and Deathcruzer for reviewing.**

**I do not own the Duel Masters TCG, OCG, Anime, Manga, or Comic. Or the new Kaijudo Anime or TCG for that matter**

**And a quick shout out – if you like Shadow War have a look at Jetzul's fanfic ''War of Civilisations''. It focuses on the Fire and Light Civilisations mainly.**

**Chapter 3 – Strength of a Thousand**

The Fire civilisation was famous for never giving up and fighting to the last man. Unfortunately, it looked like this was what the defenders of the fort were going to have to do. The water forces swarmed over the walls, despite the dragonoids and humans opening fire with every gun they had. Balbaro blasted a scissor eye with his pistol and pulled another one off the back of his comrade.

''We're gonna get swamped if it carries on like this!'' snarled the bulky dragonoid. A machine eater ran up to them, his sidearm smoking and out of ammunition. ''Our armourloids have been sabotaged,'' he said worriedly ''there's no way we can win this without fire support''.

A burning red star lit up the sky as he said this. ''Have reinforcements arrived?'' said Balbaro. The shooting star soared towards the fort and impacted in the central courtyard. From within the dust cloud, a thunderous roar was heard. A bulky dragonoid emerged, wielding a blazing trident. He whirled his trident, shooting a massive fireball that vaporised a group of stained glass. ''At last, support is here'' said the relieved machine eater. The newcomer hurled himself upon the enemy in a whirlwind of flames and steel. The normally fearless cyber programs that made up the water army retreated before his blazing fury. Soon, a combination of the new dragonoid's attacks and the defenders had driven the water army back to a safe distance.

Ucarn, the dragonoid who commanded the fort, approached the stranger. ''Thank you for your assistance brother,'' he growled, ''what is your name?'' The trident wielder planted his burning weapon in the earth. ''I am Sapian Tark, the first shard of Fang'' he spoke in a low growl. ''What is a shard of Fang?'' asked Balbaro. Tark turned to face him. ''I am a warrior forged from the ashes of Fighter Dual Fang to destroy the shadows, human'' he replied. There was a murmuring amongst the garrison forces. This fearsome warrior was some kind of super soldier?

Meanwhile, the angel command council were alarmed by the developments on the surface below. ''The death of Fang alone would be an annoying setback, but these 'shards' are an unknown that we could not have planned for'' said Syforce. The other council members nodded in agreement. ''There are more pressing problems however,'' replied Haunasa, ''Trox is only one of the Grand Generals in Ballom's army of shadow; There could be others preparing to attack the other civilisaitons, even we are no safe from the hordes of their army''. As if on cue, an initiate shot through the door and span rapidly in the canter of the chamber. It spoke in a synthesized voice ''General Damudo is leading a force to assail our citadel, they will arrive in mere minutes''. The council members gasped in disbelief. ''Impossible, the forces of Darkness would never dare attack us'' raged Syforce. ''It seems Ballom has taken the first move in this chess match,'' said Alcadeias, ''this council meeting is over, all forces scramble and prepare for the assault''.

The second shard hurtled towards the citadel at impossible speeds. It rocketed past the guardian patrols before coming to a stop, hovering outside the council chamber where the angel commands had just exited. ''What is the meaning of this?'' shouted Ethel. The shard glowed brightly and formed into a steel armoured befemoth armed with a huge scythe and multiple laser weapons. ''Unit online'' it droned ''activating program – Amnis''. Amnis fully activated and turned to face Alcaedias. ''The forces of Darkness approach us as we speak,'' he said, ''I am Amnis, the second shard of fang and an angel command''. The council chancellor replied ''we know of your kind, shard,'' he spoke, ''will you assist us are will you be disposed of?'' Amnis responded ''I am ready to aid the defence of this citadel''. And with that , he flew off to join the defence of the Light city.

''Hold the line brothers!'' shouted the beast folk in charge of the world tree defence force. The arrival of Urth had delayed the attack but the Dark Titan Maginn and Zorvaz the Bonecusher were attacking him with dark blasts that stopped him from unleashing his full power. Trox brought down guardians and initiates alike with swings of his colossal axe. In accordance with Ballom's grand plan, he had distracted the council of Light long enough for Damudo to assault their citadel while the were unprepared.

Something Ballom had not prepared for however was the arrival of the third shard. It crashed down at the head of the Nature army and quickly a beast folk in leather armour with a tattered scarf rose up from the smoke. ''Alright guys, let's get em! Time for payback!'' He yelled. The beast folk looked at the short warrior in disbelief. ''What?,' he said,''I may not look like much but I'm the third shard of Fang, made from an aspect of his warrior spirit!''. He turned to face the dark forces before him. Only then did the beast folk see him unsheath a glowing sword as long as he was tall. The small warrior gave a mighty battle cry and charged, wiping out a trio of vile zombies with a swing of his weapon. The beast folk joined him in his assault, rushing the enemy with tooth and claw. Trox looked on in alarm. This was not part of the master plan! He trudged forward to destroy this new warrior. The blade wielder sprang at the grand general, who swatted him aside like a fly. The warrior got up with difficulty and growled. ''How am I supposed to fight darkness if I can't even beat these creatures?'' he yelled angrily. An idea entered his head. He rushed over to a nearby initate. ''This may sting a bit,'' he warned ''but its for the best''. With that, he smashed the hilt of his blade into the initiate. ''Vortex Evolution,'' he yelled, ''Sanfist, the Savage Vizier!''. The beast folk absorbed the initiate's power, causing it to temporarily spin before re-activating, and transformed into a gold armoured warrior that glowed with newfound power. ''Wow,'' said Sanfist, ''that went better than expected''. The general looked shocked. ''What did you do?'' he spluttered. ''Alone I might not be the strongest of the shards,'' replied Sanfist, ''but my ability lies in borrowing the power of my allies!'' Sanfist then unleashed a mighty blast that made Trox stumble and fall. ''The power of many combined is stronger than you, because you are alone in this fight!'' yelled the savage vizier. ''Minions, delay him while I make a tactical withdrawal!'' ordered Trox, before fleeing through the ranks of his confused army.

**Author's Note**

As you may know, Duel Masters is being rebooted by WoTC as 'Kaijudo'. I will try to include the odd creature from the new game (Tatsurion is pretty awesome) in this fanfic. Oh, and don't worry about the fourth (water) shard, he shows up next chapter.

For reference, the shards are the following cards

Fire - Sapian Tark, Flame Dervish

Light - Amnis, Holy Elemental

Nature - Innocent Hunter, Blade of All (His combo form in this chapter is Sanfist the Savage Vizier)

Water - Aqua Master

Blade's ability to power up from other creatures is based on his ability to evolve into any evolution creature in game. Tark's wave striker ability will come into play later, as will Master and Amnis's respective powers.


	4. Chapter 4

**Shadow War**

**Thanks go to Jetzul for reviewing.**

**I do not own the Duel Masters TCG, OCG, Anime, Manga, or Comic. Or the new Kaijudo Anime or TCG for that matter**

**And a quick shout out – if you like Shadow War have a look at dawriterman's fanfic 'The Mega Apocalypse Revisited', providing an alternative take on the creature war (water and fire as allies)**

**This chapter focuses of the Water civilisation, who haven't got many appearances yet, despite being my favourite of the five.**

**Chapter 4 – War On All Fronts**

In Ballom's dark fortress, the master of death sat upon his throne and listened to a lowly fiend giving his report on the battle. These 'shards' were an inconvenience to his plans that had to be dealt with. Ballom summoned his most powerful Grand General, Daidalos the General of Fury. The colossal winged behemoth entered the throne room, stooping to enter through the doorway that was too small for him to fit through otherwise. ''Daidalos, you have a new objective,'' boomed Ballom, ''Marinomancer has failed me – his forces have not yet overwhelmed the Firelands, so you must lead an army to wipe out the Fire forces''. Daidalos grinned, he always looked forward to the next battle. ''Oh, and destroy the foolish Water army as well, they have outlived their usefulness'' added the dark lord. ''It will be done, my lord'' replied Daidalos, before bowing and exiting the throne room. Ballom moved a piece on the chessboard next to his throne. ''Despite this inconvenience, my plan shall still come to its completion''.

The grand city of the cyber lords lay deep beneath the ocean's surface. Within the heart of the fortress, where the Acashic Database that held all knowledge collected by the Water civilisation was located, the cyber council met to discus the war. The cyber lords seemed to be angry with Marinomancer. ''You lead us into a war far to soon, and look what has happened!'' shouted the usually calm Tropico. Marinomancer was shocked and confused. Ballom had promised that this plan would work, and now his former allies were turning on him. ''You are no longer head of this council'', announced Tropico, ''I shall direct the council from here, take this fool to the dungeons''. Marinomancer looked horrified. Not only had his plan backfired, but he was to be imprisoned as well. A liquid soldier entered the council chamber and bowed to Tropico. ''Lord, I bring a report from the front, the forces of Darkness have arrived and are attacking both us and the Fire forces''. Marinomancer gasped. He had been betrayed as well as everything else? Tropico looked as surprised as the former council leader. ''Break of the attack on the Fire forces and fall back to a more defensible location'' he ordered. The messenger bowed again and left. ''Judging by your reaction, there is something you know that we don't Marinomancer'' said Tropico accusingly. Marinomancer sighed. ''I made a deal with the lord of Darkness, Ballom'', he explained, ''I was to direct our forces to disable Fire so he could conquer them with little resistance''. Tropico scowled. ''Guards, take this lowly traitor away, and make sure he resides in a dungeon for a very long time''. Marinomancer wailed as he was dragged off by two aqua guards. ''Now the traitor has been exposed, we must look to our defence'', he said in his usual calm tone, ''no doubt Ballom will attack us as well, so we must prepare for the assault''.

Marinomancer sat within his prison cell, a spiderweb-like cage of ice. Perhaps he could escape, and flee the city? The cyber lord quickly hacked into the city network using his neural implants. Those foolish guards had left the door to his cell on an open circuit! A few seconds later, the icy cage around him melted into a puddle. Marinomancer slipped past the guards and headed for his laboratory, for he would need additional fire-power to escape from this situation. The laboratory of Marinomancer was a dark and sinister place, where mysterious and often illegal experiments were carried out. Through years of careful planning, the fallen cyber lord had created hybrids of Darkness and Water creatures that were loyal only to him. His trusted ally Milporo sat at the command console, manipulating the research data. ''Greetings my ally'', he droned, ''will you require transportation?''. Marinomancer nodded hurriedly and began to type commands into a nearby console. Soon, the council would realise he had escaped. His method of escape would be using a sea mutant creature he had created himself from hedrian and merfolk DNA. ''Prepare several aqua shadows to aid in my escape, then download the laboratory systems onto a mobile cyber computer and load it onto the sea mutant'' ordered Marinomancer. He would still be able to flee from this terrible mess with his life and his precious research.

The final shard of Fang had meanwhile landed in the sea near to the cyber fortress. It took shape as a liquid warrior armed with a huge sabre. His program name was Aqua Master, and he was the shard representing Fang's knowledge and cunning. ''The dark legions are assaulting our forces is the Firelands'' he said, having hacked into the cyber council's information feed. With that, he began to levitate and hurtled off towards the Firelands to battle the dark army.

Just as the Fire forces thought they had driven off the enemy, the sky darkened as a huge cloud of Darkness creatures blocked out the sun with their massive numbers. The fortress aimed its weapons into the cloud of foul beasts and opened fire. However, the swarm soon set upon the defenders and savagely assaulted the walls. Tark blasted groups of the enemy with great fireballs, but even he could not hold back the tide of evil. The retreating Water army was also attacked. Cyber viruses and gel fish floundered as gargoyles lashed out with razor edged talons. A mighty cyber moon fired bolts of energy at the attackers, but the enemy swarm of brain jackers crawled all over it and disabled its weapons. The cyber lord in command of it was terrified as he was dragged off by a multitude of giant mosquitoes. Tark, Balbaro, and Ucarn fort back to back in the middle of the Fire fort. Ucarn unloaded his arm cannons into the massed ranks of skeleton soldiers that shambled towards him, while Balbaro prepared to fire a rocket launcher he had taken from a downed Armorloid.

Aqua Master reached the edge of the battle and activated his advanced combat sensors. Calculating the perfect position to attack from, he launched himself into the fray and whirled around as he sliced down the dark beasts around him. His complex neural implants worked away as he fought, working to issue advanced combat orders to the nearby cyber viruses now that the cyber lord had been seized by the enemy. The Water forces, now acting under a central leadership and installed with advanced combat programs, began to fight back much more efficiently. Aqua Master's multiple computer implants allowed him to direct entire armies at once while simultaneously calculating the optimum course of action for himself to take in combat. He combined the vast intelligence and quick thinking of a cyber lord with the combat ability of a liquid warrior.

Ballom was both annoyed and intrigued. Marinomancer was a wild card in this war; he was on neither side, but possessed a measure of the power of both. The creatures he had created in his laboratory were...interesting, to say the least. Ballom placed another piece onto his chessboard to represent Marinomancer, a bishop, to show his unpredictable nature. However, this 'Aqua Master' was proving to be even more irritating than the rest of the shards. _I will have to summon up another demon command_ thought Ballom. He got up from his throne and turned to face the cavern behind it. ''Great beast of the underworld, hear my call and arise'', he boomed, ''awaken, Deathliger – Lion of Chaos!''. A behemoth of destruction emerged from the demon cave. Skeletal wings sprouted from its back, and it gave a terrifying roar of fury as it emerged. ''Go, my beast, bring ruin to the shards, for they have interfered in my plans for the last time!'' yelled Ballom. The creature galloped out of the throne room.

**Author's Note**

If any of you reading this want a particular creature to show up in the story, put it in a review. No survivors though (yet), as I already have plans for them (insert evil laugh).

Random fact - Tropico was the first Duel Masters card I ever got, and remains to this fay one of my favorites, hence why he gets a big role. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Shadow War**

**Thanks go to Jetzul and Pearlissafanfiction for reviewing.**

**I do not own the Duel Masters TCG, OCG, Anime, Manga, or Comic. Or the new Kaijudo Anime or TCG for that matter**

**Chapter 4 - The Path to Victory**

The army of Darkness in the Firelands was reeling from the sudden counterattack from the Water forces. Daidalos swept forwards. ''If you want something doing properly, you have to do it yourself '' he grumbled, before charging into the fray with his blades whirling. Tark grinned and ran forwards to meet the dark general in combat, spinning his halberd eagerly. Daidalos slammed his bone blades into Tark's steel spear, sending him flying backwards into a ruined fortification, where he impacted with a tremendous crash and a cloud of debris. The dark general laughed, believing his enemy defeated already, but the dragonoid crawled out of the rubble and raised his weapon again. Daidalos was displeased by this. ''Save yourself the trouble and just die already'' he said, attacking again with his barbed tail. Tark deflected the attack and launched a fierce fireball into the demon's face. Daidalos screeched in pain and fell back, clutching his face. 'Not so easy to kill, am I?'' taunted the dragonoid. While Daidalos was incapacitated, Tark picked up a flamethrower from a fallen hellion. ''Send my regards to Ballom'' he said casually, before incinerating the once menacing general Daidalos, ending his reign of terror once and for all.

The battle went ill for the Dark forces in the Nature territory. The arrival of the shard had offset the balance and tipped it in favour of the defenders. Trox attempted to flee through the disorderly ranks of his confused minions while Sanfist pursued him with an aura of power surrounding him. Sanfist fired a burst of light, and Trox threw an unsuspecting gargoyle between him and the attack, absorbing it. The Dark Titan took aim at the savage vizier and fired, leaving a huge dust cloud and scattering smoking wreckage everywhere. Trox laughed. Not even a shard could survive that kind of attack. When the smoke cleared, Sanfist was gone. Trox cackled, believing he had destroyed his nemesis once and for all. He was surprised, therefore, when he was tapped on the shoulder by the shard a few seconds later. ''Next time'' taunted Sanfist ''use a bigger gun, not that there will be a next time anyway''. With that, he unleashed a searing flash of light that blasted Trox and his minion the Titan into ashes. Sanfist collapsed from the effort of his final attack, and reverted to the form of the diminutive beast folk warrior.

Ballom was raging at the deaths of his two most senior generals at the hands of these newcomers. Trox and Daidalos were the most powerful warriors in his army, and they had been swept aside easily. Soon Alcadeias would see the defeat of the dark armies and launch an attack on the Dark lands. This was exactly what Ballom did not want. He would have to take charge of the battle himself, or else the superior tactical ability of Tropico and Alcadeias would overwhelm his remaining generals and all would be lost.

Marinomancer had escaped his imprisonment at the hands of Tropico and his former allies, but he was not free yet. He had a powerful creature known as the sea mutant at his command. Through years of careful experimentation, he had combined hedrian and merfolk forms into a mobile fortress for his use. His other creation was the aqua shadow, a ghostly liquid warrior that could fade in and out of sight to surprise and destroy his enemies. Marinomancer was pleased with his work, and he hoped that the creatures he had produced would be enough for him to make his escape. With his research records preserved in his sea mutant's central core, he could escape and set up a base elsewhere to continue his work. With that in mind, he contacted defectors he had planted throughout the liquid people forces. Aqua Hulcus was a supporter of his, as was Aqua Soldier. They would aid in his flight from the Cyber City. A few minutes later, his allies had arrived and they met in his laboratory's central chamber. ''Our plans have been discovered by the Cyber Council, and we must now flee'' declared Marinomancer ''prepare yourselves for a risky escape''.

The Cyber Council had realised that their prisoner had escaped from his cell. Tropico directed guards to the fallen cyber lord's lab. ''Capture him if possible'' he ordered ''if not, dispose of him discretely''. The group of guards nodded and marched out of the chamber. Tropico then conjured up a glowing representation of the city, with shining markers to represent his guards, and a slowly blinking red beacon to show Marinomancer's location. ''The trap is set'' he murmured.

The council of Angel Commands were in a meeting in the high citadel. Alcadeias, as always, took charge. ''We must launch a counter attack against Ballom while he is reeling from the loss of his generals''. Haunasa disagreed loudly, unafraid to make his opinion known. ''Until we secure our own borders, there can be no counter attack'' he shouted ''we do not know if our own city is even safe!''. ''The shard of Light contacted me a few moments ago'' countered Alcadeias ''he and our forces have scattered the Darkness invaders and are in the process of driving them off''. As if on cue, the doors to the chamber were flung open, and Amnis entered, dragging general Damudo, who was bound by chains of fiercely glowing light. ''This is the enemy leader'' announced the shard calmly ''now he shall stand trial''. Haunasa was shocked that the Darkness forces had been driven off so easily. Damudo growled in protest at his capture, but Alcadeias approached him. ''Damudo of the darkness, you are an enemy of peace and prosperity in this land, and I sentence you to death by my authority as an Angel Command''. The initiate executors entered the chamber and led Damudo out, pulling him along by the chains of light despite his angry protests.

Ballom, meanwhile, was utterly furious. Alcadeias had the upper hand. If it was not for those troublesome shards, he would have swept away all before him, but they had interfered with his plans too much. Worse still, the forces of the four Civilisations were set to meet at a conference in neutral ground to declare a peace treaty, which would free them all up to attack him! He had to disrupt the peace talks, for an alliance of the Civilisations would spell certain doom for him. His arrogance and overconfidence in assaulting three enemies at once had cost him his three generals and most of his armies of shadow. Even the Deathliger had mysteriously disappeared on its way to attack the shards. He suspected the interference of the Angel Commands. Ballom's entire plan was collapsing around him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Shadow War**

**Chapter 6 – Apotheosis**

* * *

><p>Ballom realised he would have to disrupt the peace talks between the other civilisations. A direct attack was an idiotic idea; he would have to be more cunning in his approach. To this end, he contacted his chief of the armoury, a traitor dragonoid.<p>

"Yes, my lord?" hissed the reptilian weapon smith.

"I require you to create a bomb" rumbled Ballom, "that will disperse toxic gas in the peace talks". The dragonoid cackled.

"It shall be done at once, my lord".

The dark forges of Ballom's pits were fired up; fuel was hurled in huge quantities into vast furnaces by shambling zombie labourers, and the dragonoid traitors began to forge a mighty bomb to destroy the peace talks.

* * *

><p>Representatives from the four other civilisations had agreed to meet in the no-man's land between Fire and Nature territory. From Nature came Mighty Shouter; he was a respected elder of a major beast folk tribe and commanded great authority within the Nature civilisation. The representative for Light was Urth, selected as the ambassador. Water had sent Tropico to talk, as he was persuasive and eloquent. Finally, Bolshack Dragon, one of the oldest and mightiest of the armoured dragons, spoke for Fire.<p>

Beneath the site of the negotiations, the traitor weapon smiths were tunnelling to plant the bomb. They would detonate an explosive charge first, then when a breach to the surface had been created, the gas bomb would be deployed to kill the delegates.

Above, the talks had begun.

"We are here to discuss how we shall defeat Ballom, the enemy of all our peoples" announced Urth, "he is a dangerous foe, who has already slain many of our peoples with his plotting".

"We must attack the Shadowlands!" roared Bolshack Dragon. The other delegates from Fire yelled in approval.

"While normally I would be loath to agree with a dragon, this seems to be our only available course to take" added Tropico, "we must force Ballom's hand before he can use any more trickery".

"I agree" responded Shouter, "Ballom is too dangerous to ignore, we need to stop him as soon as we can".

"The council is in agreement then?" said Urth, "we shall gather a force and go the Shadowlands, to dethrone Ballom!"

Just then, the traitors struck.

The ground under the talks collapsed, and through the crater came foul purple fog. The delegates began to choke and splutter as the vile mist surrounded them. From within the ruined centre of the room came the traitors, armed with cannon and blade and wearing gas masks. They set upon the delegates and slew those who were not already choking on the poison gas attack.

A beast folk tried to flee, but the traitors grabbed him and hurled him into the gas cloud, where he died a slow and painful death. Urth, Bolshack, and Tropico were able to get clear, but Shouter was not so lucky and the aged chieftain was seized by the traitors.

"A message from Ballom" growled a traitor, "you will all die now". The traitors riddled Shouter with cannon fire, blowing him to smithereens.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Marinomancer had fled to a far corner of the ocean. Using his sea mutant, he set up a new base of operations with his allies. Here, they could multiply their forces and take the Water city by surprise when the time came. His experiments must continue!<p> 


End file.
